Pump It Up: Elvis Costello's 100 Best Songs

by Jim Beviglia

Elvis Costello burst onto the music scene in 1977 with his first album 'My Aim Is True' - one of the finest debuts ever recorded. In the years since then, he has released 23 albums, either solo or with The Attractions and The Imposters. From early classics such as 'Alison' and 'Watching the Detectives' to mid-career highlights such as 'Veronica', to the brilliant return to form on 'National Ransom', his work has won countless awards and earned the respect of songwriters everywhere. But which is his greatest song? Jim Beviglia has picked the 100 best songs from his eclectic range of albums, before choosing Costello’s finest ever track. All the classics are included - as well as a few others which may may (or may not) surprise you. Pump It Up will take you back to all of Costello’s finest moments, and whether you are a hard-core fan or just enjoy listening to Costello’s music, this list offers a wealth of information on Costello’s musical history, the differences between his albums, and an incisive analysis of his most celebrated tracks. It is the one book that every Costello fan will want to read.

Genres: Music

137 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 19, 2013

Reviews

[Steven Vinnicombe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Comprehensive guide to the best Elvis Costello songs .

Informative. interesting well written book about the talented Elvis Costello. One Hundred of his classic songs well researched and informed synopsis of his writing. A very good read.

[Jay French · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have been a fan of EC since the beginning, but I didn’t pay much attention to his output over the past 15 years or so. I had just moved on. Reading “Pump It Up” brought back the interest to these songs, the music and the lyrics of EC, even the 40% or so that I didn’t know. This was a nice selection of songs, sprinkled with hits and other memorable songs from across most albums through the very recent. Beviglia writes like a rock writer, with the backstory of the song on some pages, his personal reflections on others. It works very well if you like that kind of thing, and I do. It does get a bit long, though at 100 songs. I found myself listening to many songs while reading these song reviews, with the caveat that the reviews were usually a page or two and were fully read before the song got over. Key takeaway: The book “Pump It Up”, about Elvis Costello’s top 100 songs as picked by author Jim Beviglia, is not named after his number 1 song pick.

[Deborah hazel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Impressed by all the information

Though I disagreed on the 100 Jim did a fantastic job with this work. He even said in the beginning there are so many great EC songs that he wouldn't be able to make everyone happy. I would love to see Jim tackle Elvis album by album. I highly recommend this to anyone who is an Elvis Costello fan.

[Allan Heron · Rating 3 out of 5]

A light and easy read but as with all such lists, you're left wondering about some of the absences from the list.

Neither 'I Want You' or 'I'll Wear It Proudly' worthy of inclusion? There will be others, but the author does rate 'New Lace Sleeves' very highly so that's a decent counter.

[Alison · Rating 2 out of 5]

A good retrospective of EC's work, but I was disappointed that there were no lyrics, just a list of songs and the author's opinions on each. I was hoping for more.